A thrilling, playoff-determining doubleheader between the Mets and Braves delivered for ESPN2. Plus: NASCAR Kansas viewership inched up despite a season-low; Presidents Cup golf hit a low.
Mets-Braves doubleheader averages seven-figures on ESPN2
Monday’s Mets-Braves Major League Baseball doubleheader, which determined the final two seeds in the National League, averaged 1.04 million viewers on ESPN. Game 1 averaged 879,000, peaking at 1.43 million in the 4 PM ET quarter-hour, while Game 2 averaged 1.25 million. Keep in mind ESPN2 coverage was blacked out in the New York market.
In other MLB action, regional action on FOX averaged 1.62 million viewers Saturday night — down 4% from last year’s finale (1.68M). FOX finished the season with an average of 1.88 million viewers, up a fraction from last year (from 1.875 to 1.879 million). Averages for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball and MLB on TBS were previously reported here.
MLB Network averaged 231,000 viewers for its “Showcase” games this season, up 11% from last year.
NASCAR Kansas viewership inches up despite season-low
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Kansas averaged 1.74 million viewers on USA Network Sunday, up 2% from last year (1.76M), but the least-watched race of the season (excluding rainouts).
The previous day’s Xfinity Series race — the second such telecast on CW — averaged 722,000, down sharply from last year on NBC (1.33M).
Presidents Cup down from prior non-U.S. edition
Final day coverage of the Presidents Cup golf tournament averaged 1.37 million viewers on NBC, marking the least-watched final day of the event since 2015 (720K). The last time the tournament took place outside of the United States — 2019 in Australia — final round coverage averaged 1.71 million in an overnight Saturday window on Golf Channel.
The prior Presidents Cup two years ago, which took place in the United States, averaged a final day audience of 1.89 million. This year’s tournament was hosted by Canada, making a comparison to a U.S.-based edition more apples-to-apples than usual.
